Georgia Takes on St. Mary's in Wooden Legacy

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Wooden Legacy First Round
Georgia Bulldogs (4-1) vs. Saint Mary's Gaels (5-1)
Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Titan Gym (4,000) in Fullerton, Calif.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. Flagship: AM 750 (Atlanta); (Cabell Philpott, play-by-play; Mark Slonaker, analyst)
TV: ESPNU (Steve Quis, play-by-play; Corey Williams, analyst)
Video: WatchESPN.com

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Georgia Bulldogs
Coach: Mark Fox
148-118 in 9th season at UGA
271-161 in 14th season overall
G	0	William Jackson II	12.0	2.2
6-4; 185; Jr.; Athens, Ga.
G	13	E'Torrion Wilridge	2.2	2.0
6-6; 220; Jr.; Beaumont, Texas
G	20	Rayshaun Hammonds	10.8	6.8
6-8; 227; Fr.; Norcross, Ga.
F	1	Yante Maten	18.8	10.0
6-8; 243; Sr.; Pontiac, Mich.
F	34	Derek Ogbeide	4.8	6.9
6-8; 245; Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.

Pos	No.	Name	PPG	RPG

Saint Mary's Gaels
Coach: Randy Bennett
367-157 in 17th season at St. Mary's
367-157 in 17th season overall
G	3	Kyle Allman	13.2	4.0
6-1; 195; Sr.; Sydney, Australia
G	30	Khalil Ahmad	8.0	3.2
6-1; 160; Soph.; Folsom, Calif.
F	24	Davon Clare	16.2	3.2
6-6; 200; Sr.; Lake Oswego, Ore.
C	21	Dominik Heinzl	4.3	1.8
6-10; 230; Jr.; San Diego, Calif.
C	34	Arkim Robertson	18.3	8.0
6-11; 255; Sr.; East Malvern, Australia

TEAM COMPARISON

GEORGIA		SAINT MARY'S
70.6	Points per game	83.3
+7.4	Scoring margin	+14.1
43.0	FG pct.	52.2
34.7	FG defense	48.5
30.3	3FG pct.	44.0
26.3	3FG defense	27.0
6.0	3FGs per game	8.5
69.5	FT pct.	81.3
18.2	FTs per game	15.2
+11.6	Rebound Margin	+4.0
12.8	Assists per game	16.8
0.77	Assists-to-TOs	2.06
5.8	Blocks per game	1.7
5.4	Steals per game	3.8

The Starting 5...

Yante Maten was ranked as one of the nation's top-25 players by CBS (22), ESPN (23) and NBC (24).
Rayshaun Hammonds became the first UGA freshman to start an opener since KCP in '11-12.
Yante Maten is the first Bulldog to open the year with three double-doubles since 1987.
Turtle Jackson has four career-best scoring outputs in the first five games - 11, 13, 16 & 17 points.
Mark & Cindy Fox donated $18,976 to Athens charities, $1 for each fan at UGA's Nov. home games.

Georgia Treks To Wooden Legacy

Yante Maten is...

4 points from No. 19 Willie Anderson
5 points from No. 18 Ezra Williams
23 points from No. 17 Ronnie Hogue
8 rebounds from No. 13 Marcus Thornton
18 rebounds from No. 12 Sundiata Gaines
15 FTs from No. 5 Vern Fleming
1 FTAs from No. 11 Shandon Anderson
4 FTAs from No. 10 Bob Lienhard
5 FTAs from No. 9 Carlos Strong
11 FTAs from No. 11 Bill Ensley
52 FTAs from co-No. 6 Vern Fleming and J.J. Frazier
13 blocks from No. 3 Terrell Bell

Series History Vs. The Gaels

Saint Mary's won the only previous meeting between UGA and SMC, a 77-65 decision in the second round of the 2016 NIT at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

Emmett Naar (15 points and 11 assists) and Dane Pineau (12 points and 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles to lead four Gaels in double figures. J.J. Frazier and Charles Mann scored 13 points apiece to top the Bulldogs on the offensive end.

Saint Mary's seized control with a 15-2 run midway through the first half that put the Gaels up 27-17. A Frazier three-point play made it 51-47 with 11:48 left, but Saint Mary's responded with an 11-0 spurt.

Series History Vs. Wooden Field

Georgia faced only two of the other seven teams in the Wooden Legacy before this weekend. The Bulldogs were 0-1 vs. Saint Mary's and 1-0 against Washington State.

Georgia's "Wooden" History

Georgia is making its third appearance in a "Wooden" event. The Bulldogs played in the 1997 and 2002 editions of the Wooden Classic in Anaheim.

Most recently, current Georgia assistant coach Jonas Hayes scored 16 points and logged 41 minutes of playing time in the Bulldogs' 78-73 overtime victory against Cal on Dec. 7, 2002. Ezra Williams paced the Bulldogs with 23 points in that outing.

In the other Wooden outing, No. 22 Georgia fell 76-74 to No. 12 Stanford on Dec. 6, 1997. Jumaine Jones led the Bulldogs with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Mark Madsen countered with 23 points and 13 boards for the Cardinal.

Last Time Out...

Georgia and San Diego State battled back-and-forth throughout, but the Aztecs outlasted the Bulldogs, 75-68, Friday night in the semifinals of the Wooden Legacy at Titan Gym.

Maten and Turtle Jackson led Georgia with 17 points. Jackson added a team-high four assists to go with a new career-high point total.

With less than four minutes remaining, Georgia had a one-point advantage, however San Diego State made its next three shots and a pair of free throws to go up eight.

Ratin' Maten A Popular Task

Preseason recognition was consistent and plentiful for Yante Maten.

Maten was ranked as one of the nation's top-25 players by three different online ledgers. CBSsports.com put him at No. 22, ESPN.com listed him at No. 23 (information below and to the left) and NBCsports.com tabbed him at No. 24.

Maten was tabbed the preseason SEC Player of the Year by the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and a panel of SEC and national media. The media poll named Maten, Texas A&M's Robert Williams and Missouri's Michael Porter, Jr. as co-players of the year.

Maten was included on various watch lists. Most notably, he was featured on ledgers for the Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Naismith Trophy. In addition, Maten was on the list for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and the Lute Olson Award, which is awarded to the top Division I player who has played at least two seasons.

He also received preseason All-America recognition. Jay Bilas, in an obvious plot to prove he's the wisest college hoops analyst in the nation, included Maten on his first-team All-America ledger. Among others, Maten also earned All-America props from the Blue Ribbon Yearbook (third team), www.collegesportsmadness.com (fourth team) and NBCsports.com (honorable mention).

This Turtle Starting Quickly

William "Turtle" Jackson entered the season with two double-digit scoring performances in 66 games played at Georgia.

He has done so in four of the Bulldogs' first five outings of 2017-18, producing a quartet of career-high scoring outputs in the process (from 11 to 13 to 16 to 17 points).

In fact, Jackson reached double figures in the scoring column in the first half alone of the first two games.

Jackson scored 11 points - all in the first half - against Bryant. That bettered his previous best performance(s) of 10 points versus both Oakland and Belmont last year.

Against USC Upstate, Jackson scored 10 points in the first half and added three more in the second stanza.

That mark lasted two games until Jackson knocked down 16 points versus Cal State Fullerton in the Wooden Legacy...and then topped that with 17 points against San Diego State.

Jackson continues to do much of his damage from behind the 3-point arc. To date, 12 of his 20 makes from the floor have been 3-pointers. For his career, 59.3 percent (48-of-81) of Jackson's made FGs have been 3s.

Hammonds Gets Nod For Opener

Rayshaun Hammonds became the first Bulldog freshman to start a season opener since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did so in 2011-12.

Hammonds was expected to do so after he got the nod for both of the Bulldogs' exhibitions, including a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds versus Valdosta State.

Hammonds also enjoyed an impressive "official" debut versus Bryant, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds.

That was the highest output by a UGA freshman in an opener in a decade and a day - since Jeremy Price scored 18 points against Jacksonville State on Nov. 9, 2007.

FYI, Caldwell-Pope, who signed an $18-million contract to play for the Lakers this season, put up a game-high 15 points to lead Georgia in a 62-49 win over Wofford on Nov. 11, 2011.

While Hammonds became the first freshman to start an opener in six years, freshman starters is nothing new for Georgia during Mark Fox's tenure.

Six members of the Bulldogs' 10 returning letterwinners this season also started as freshmen - seniors Yante Maten and Juwan Parker, juniors Mike Edwards and Derek Ogbeide and sophomores Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris.

Foxes Donate From Nov. Games

Head coach Mark Fox and his wife Cindy will be donating $1 to charity for every fan who attended the Bulldogs' three November home games. The amount will be split equally between the Boys and Girls Club of Athens and the Clarke County Mentor Program.

Georgia drew 7,387 fans for the opener against Bryant - UGA's biggest crowd for a season opener in a decade - as well as 5,369 for the Upstate date and 6,220 against Texas A&M-CC. Therefore, the Foxes will contribute $18,976 to the aforementioned groups ($9,488 to each).

Fox announced their effort in an Oct. 12 tweet (to the left) and was later asked about his decision to make the donations.

"I just think that no matter where you turn somebody's complaining about something," he said. "I meant what I said. People in positions like I have, we have an obligation to try and make things better. We're fortunate to have great opportunities to impact the world and we should do that, we should try to do that. I think we have too many people complaining and not enough people trying to make a difference, if you want my honest opinion."

Cindy Fox is on the board for Clarke Mentors, which recruits community volunteers to mentor children who attend the Clarke County School District. Derrick Floyd, director of operations for the Athens Boys and Girls Club, was a letterwinner for the Bulldogs from 1980-83 and today serves as the official scorer for Georgia basketball games and the SEC Tourney.

"Those groups are working to try and make the next generation better and to make society better," Mark Fox said. "If we can give them a little help, that's great."

Dogs Flip Script With Starting 5

Four-guard lineups are a relatively common fixture in college basketball. To start the season, Georgia is utilizing a four-forward starting quintet.

Point guard William "Turtle" Jackson is the only starter to date with a "G" featured by his name on the Bulldogs' roster.

In addition, Georgia has started 6-6 E'Torrion Wilridge at the '2,' 6-8 Rayshaun Hammonds at the '3,' 6-8 Yante Maten at the '4' and 6-8 Derek Ogbeide at the '5.'

The athleticism of Wilridge and Hammonds allows them to handle the defensive challenges of guarding guards - not to mention their shooting range and passing abilities.

"I really think the way we flew around defensively was exactly what we needed to see, and I was very pleased," Mark Fox said after the season opener.

Freshman Birthday Bonanza

Three-fourths of Georgia's freshman class will celebrate birthdays during the first dozen days of the season. On Nov. 10, Rayshaun Hammonds not only played in his collegiate debut, he also celebrated his birthday. Isaac Kante's birthday was Nov. 15, while Teshaun Hightower's was Nov. 21.

Hopefully, all four of Georgia's freshmen will enjoy in-season birthdays. Nicolas Claxton, the fourth member of Georgia's freshman quartet, has a March 17 birthday.

Maten Big-Time Vs. Top-10 Foes

Yante Maten poured in 33 points in an Oct. 29 exhibition game against No. 2 Michigan State. While those numbers won't count, that would have equaled his career-high scoring output established against Belmont in the opening round of the 2016 NIT.

Maten has displayed a knack for playing extremely well against top-ranked opponents throughout his career in Athens.

Maten has averaged 17.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg in five "games" versus top-10 opponents while making 61.2 percent of his shots from the floor and 76.5 percent from the line.

A year ago, he poured in 30 points and grabbed 13 boards against No. 5 Kansas in the championship game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City.

In three outings against top-10 foes as a freshman - one versus No. 10 Gonzaga and two against No. 1 Kentucky - Maten was a combined 10-of-17 (58.8) from the field and 6-of-9 (66.7) at the charity stripe.

Bulldogs Are HomeGrown

More than half of Georgia's roster - eight of 15 to be exact - played high school hoops in the Peach State. That list features Tyree Crump (Bainbridge HS), Rayshaun Hammonds (Norcross HS), Jordan Harriss (Seminole County HS), Christian Harrison (Woodward Academy), Teshaun Hightower (Collins Hills HS), "Turtle" Jackson (Athens Christian), Connor O'Neill (Blessed Trinity School) and Derek Ogbeide (Pebblebrook HS).

SEC Hoops Moving Forward

SEC Basketball enters the season looking to continue its upwardly trending reputation.

The SEC received five bids to the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the fifth-most of any conference. The league then proceeded to tie the ACC (which received nine bids) for the most wins during "March Madness" with 11.

Three league schools reached the "Elite Eight," including an All-SEC East Regional final between South Carolina and Florida.

Dogs Sign In-State Duo

Amanze Ngumezi and JoJo Toppin, a pair of premier in-state prospects, signed letters-of-intent to play for Georgia, Mark Fox announced on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Ngumezi (whose name is pronounced "Uh-mahn-zay In-goo-meh-zay), a 6-9, 235-pound power forward from Savannah, averaged a double-double of 12.8 points and 11.6 rebounds last season. He led Johnson High School to a 19-10 finish and the second round of the Georgia 3A State Tournament. The Atom Smashers, who finished the season ranked No. 9 in the state, lost to eventual state champion Pace Academy, 49-41, in the tourney's round of 16.

Toppin, a 6-6, 180-pound small forward from Norcross, posted averages of 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a junior at Norcross High School. Toppin - and current Bulldog freshman Rayshaun Hammonds - helped lead the Blue Devils to a runner-up showing in the 7A State Tournament and a final record of 26-6.

Dogs Debut Renewed Stegeman

Stegeman has undergone thorough renovations in the last few years, receiving a 21st Century face lift of at a cost of more than $20-million.

This summer, the arena received a massive center-hung scoreboard, new black seats, an improved LED lighting system, a state-of-the-art sound system and graphics above the horseshoe end celebrating past teams and retired jerseys. All told, the Coliseum went from having roughly 1,000-square feet of HD/LED signage to more than 4,000-square feet as broken out below.

The renovations in 2017 followed work in the summer of 2016 which provided a dramatic mural covering the Coliseum's distinctive end wall.

"Obviously, we're extremely excited about Stegeman not only for our fans, but also for our players," head coach Mark Fox said. "This is going to have a tremendous impact on our program and our university. It's beautiful inside. It's very well done. I have to compliment the architects and the construction companies. They did a terrific job. I think it will change the energy in the building because we have more tools to create atmosphere. I was in there with Dominique Wilkins and his statement was pretty good. This is now an arena, and it feels like an arena."

In 2010, Stegeman's concourses received a similar makeover, upgrading the graphics, enhancing spectator access to concessions and restrooms and adding 5,000-square feet of concourse space on each side of the arena. That work won awards from the American Institute of Architects and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Center-hung scoreboard

1008 square feet of HD video
1054 square feet of LED sections

Additional LED features

800 square feet on 3 ribbon boards
500 square feet over the 12 entry portals
50 square feet over 2 tunnels
375 square feet on 1 auxiliary board

Additional HD video

275 square feet on pre-existing board

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nicolas Claxton

Tyree Crump

Mike Edwards

Rayshaun Hammonds

Jordan Harris

Teshaun Hightower

William Jackson II

Isaac Kante

Yante Maten

Connor O'Neill

Derek Ogbeide

Juwan Parker

E'Torrion Wilridge

University of Georgia Athletics